Canadian Artists and Producers
Professional Relations Tribunal
2009-2010
Departmental Performance Report
The Honourable Lisa Raitt
Minister of Labour
Table of Contents
CHAIRPERSON’S MESSAGE................................................................................................... 1
SECTION I: OVERVIEW OF THE CANADIAN ARTISTS AND PRODUCERS
PROFESSIONAL RELATIONS TRIBUNAL........................................................................... 3
Raison d’être ............................................................................................................................... 4
Summary of Performance ........................................................................................................... 7
Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)..................................................................... 9
Risk Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 10
Expenditure Profile ................................................................................................................... 10
Voted and Statutory Items ........................................................................................................ 11
SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME 13
Program Activity by Strategic Outcome................................................................................... 14
Performance Analysis ............................................................................................................... 16
Priority 1: Deal with matters brought before the Tribunal with high quality service.............. 16
Priority 2: Fully inform and assist stakeholders ...................................................................... 18
Priority 3: Improve management practices ............................................................................... 19
Other indicators of progress...................................................................................................... 20
Lessons Learned........................................................................................................................ 21
Benefits for Canadians.............................................................................................................. 21
SECTION III: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.......................................................... 23
Financial Highlights.................................................................................................................. 24
Financial Statements ................................................................................................................. 25
SECTION IV: CONTACT INFORMATION ......................................................................... 27
Contact Information .................................................................................................................. 28
Chairperson’s Message
I am pleased to present to Parliament and Canadians the Departmental Performance Report of
the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal for the fiscal year ending
March 31, 2010.
The Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal administers a collective
bargaining regime for professional self-employed artists and producers in federal jurisdiction.
Under Part II of the Status of the Artist Act, the Tribunal defines sectors of artistic and cultural
activity for collective bargaining, certifies artists’ associations to represent artists working in
those sectors, and deals with complaints of unfair labour practices and other matters brought
forward by parties under the Act.
Parliament passed the Status of the Artist Act in 1992 as part of a commitment to recognize and
stimulate the contribution of the arts to the cultural, social, economic and political enrichment of
the country. The Act reflects the recognition that constructive professional relations in the arts
and culture sector are an important element of a vibrant Canadian culture and heritage.
Since its inception, the Tribunal has defined 26 sectors of artistic activity and certified 24 artists’
associations to represent them. Certified artists’ associations have concluded nearly 170 scale
agreements with producers, including government producers and broadcasting undertaking, since
their certification. Nine percent of these are the first agreements that the parties have ever
concluded.
The Tribunal has a single strategic outcome: constructive professional relations between selfemployed artists and producers under its jurisdiction. In working towards its strategic outcome,
the Tribunal in the past focused most of its work on certification. Most sectors are now defined,
and artists’ associations are certified to represent them. The work of the Tribunal is now more
related to complaints and determinations, changes in the definition of sectors and in
representation, and assisting parties in the bargaining process.
In addition, the Tribunal now places greater emphasis on outreach to its stakeholders and on
research in support of the collective bargaining process. The Tribunal needs to ensure that the
Act is widely known and well understood, and that its services are understood and known by the
stakeholder community. It focuses much of its effort on fully informing and assisting artists,
artists’ associations, and producers of their rights and responsibilities under the Act and of the
services that the Tribunal can make available to them.
The Tribunal’s outreach role, and the careful disposition of matters brought before it, help to
promote productive professional relations in the cultural sector, and contribute to a thriving
Canadian culture.
Elaine Kierans
Acting Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer
August 31, 2010
Chairperson’s Message
Page 1
SECTION I: OVERVIEW OF THE CANADIAN ARTISTS AND
PRODUCERS PROFESSIONAL RELATIONS TRIBUNAL
Overview
Page 3
Raison d’être
Parliament created the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal to
administer the labour relations provisions of the Status of the Artist Act for self-employed artists
and producers in federal jurisdiction. The Tribunal’s fulfilment of its mandate contributes to the
development of constructive labour relations between artists and producers.
Responsibilities
The Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal is an independent, quasijudicial agency that administers Part II of the Status of the Artist Act, which governs professional
relations between self-employed artists and federally regulated producers. The Tribunal reports
to Parliament through the Minister of Labour. The Minister of Canadian Heritage also has
responsibilities pursuant to Part II of the Act.
The Tribunal is one of four federal agencies that regulate labour relations. The other three are
the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which deals with labour relations between private sector
employers in federal jurisdiction and their employees, the Public Service Labour Relations
Board, which deals with labour relations between federal government institutions and their
employees, and the Public Service Staffing Tribunal, which deals with complaints from federal
public service employees related to internal appointments and lay-offs.
The Tribunal’s jurisdiction over producers is set out in the Status of the Artist Act, and covers
federal government institutions, including government departments and the majority of federal
agencies and Crown corporations (such as the National Film Board and the national museums),
and broadcasting undertakings under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission. Roughly 1,200 broadcasters and 165 federal government
institutions come under the Act.
The Tribunal’s jurisdiction over self-employed artists is also set out in the Status of the Artist
Act, and includes artists covered by the Copyright Act (such as writers, photographers, and music
composers), performers (such as actors, musicians, and singers), directors, and other
professionals who contribute to the creation of a production, such as those doing camera work,
lighting and costume design. Some 100,000 artists in Canada fall within the ambit of the Act.
The Tribunal has the following statutory responsibilities:
• To define the sectors of cultural activity suitable for collective bargaining between artists’
associations and producers,
• To certify artists’ associations to represent self-employed artists working in these sectors, and
• To deal with complaints of unfair labour practices and other matters brought forward by
artists, artists’ associations, and producers, and prescribe appropriate remedies.
An artists’ association certified under the Status of the Artist Act as a bargaining agent for a
specific sector has the exclusive right to negotiate scale agreements with producers. A scale
agreement specifies the minimum terms and conditions under which producers engage the
services of, or commission a work from, a self-employed artist in a specified sector, as well as
Page 4
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
other related matters. Twenty-four artists’ associations have been certified as bargaining agents
under the Act, representing 26 sectors of cultural activity.
The Status of the Artist Act and the Tribunal’s regulations, decisions, and reports to Parliament
and central agencies can be found on the Tribunal’s Web site at www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca.
Figure 1 illustrates the Tribunal’s responsibilities and the key processes under the Status of the
Artist Act, Part II.
Figure 1. Tribunal Responsibilities and Key Processes
STATUS OF THE ARTIST ACT
Under subsection 10(1) of the Status of the Artist Act, the Tribunal is composed of a Chairperson
(who is also the chief executive officer), a Vice-chairperson, and not less than two or more than
four other full-time or part-time members. Members are appointed by the Governor in Council.
Currently, the position of the Chairperson of the Tribunal is vacant, and the Vice-Chairperson
acts as the Chairperson. The Tribunal has three other members at present. Under subsection
13(2) of the Act, three members constitute a quorum for meetings or proceedings of the Tribunal.
The Vice-chairperson and the other members are part-time appointees.
The Executive Director and General Counsel heads the Tribunal Secretariat and reports to the
Chairperson. Ten staff members (when the Secretariat is fully staffed) carry out the functions of
legal counsel, registrar, planning, research, communications, and administrative services. The
Tribunal outsources some standard corporate services that are not required full-time, such as
informatics and human resources. Figure 2 illustrates the Tribunal’s organizational structure.
Overview
Page 5
Organization Chart
Chairperson and
Chief Executive Officer
Vice-chairperson
Members
Executive Director and
General Counsel
Planning, Research and
Communications
Informatics, Mail
and Security
Legal and Adjudicative
Services
Human Resources
Library
Administrative Services
Other Services
Financial Services
Services provided on contract or by other arrangements (Please see Section II, Financial Management and
Comptrollership, for more detail)
Page 6
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
The Tribunal administers the following legislation and associated regulations:
An Act respecting the status of the artist and
professional relations between artists and producers
in Canada (Short Title: Status of the Artist Act)
S.C. 1992, c.33, as amended
Status of the Artist Act Professional Category
Regulations
SOR 99/191
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional
Relations Tribunal Procedural Regulations
SOR/2003-343
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
The chart bellow illustrates the Tribunal’s single strategic outcome program activities and the
program activities that contribute to it.
Strategic Outcome
The rights of artists and producers under
Part II of the Status of the Artist Act are
protected and respected.
Program Activity
Certification,
Complaints and
Determination
Program
Internal
Services
Summary of Performance
2009–10 Financial Resources ($millions)
Planned Spending
Total Authorities
Actual Spending
2.0
2.1
1,1
Planned
Actual
Difference
10
7
3
2009–10 Human Resources (FTEs)
The Tribunal’s spending and human resource levels are relatively stable, as its plans and
priorities are generally stable from year to year and involve no major new initiatives. This
reflects the quasi-judicial adjudicative mandate of the Tribunal, as set out in the Status of the
Artist Act.
Overview
Page 7
Strategic Outcome: The rights of artists and producers under Part II of the Status of the Artist Act are
protected and respected.
Performance Indicators
Targets
Performance Indicators
Targets
Cases are resolved in a fair
and timely way, with natural
justice and administrative
fairness observed,
•
Average time between
hearing and issue of
reasons does not exceed 60
calendar days
Stakeholders have easy, timely
access to information about the
Act and about Tribunal
decisions and activities:
•
Average time to process all
cases from application to
issue of reason for decision
does not exceed 200 days
•
No applications for judicial review
Average number of
calendar days between
hearing and issue of
reasons
At least 75 percent of cases
are upheld on judicial review
•
No requests for mediation
Average time to process
cases from application to
issue of reason for decision
75 percent of requests for
complaints mediation
assistance result in
complaints resolved
•
75 percent of requests for
bargaining mediation
assistance result in
agreements reached or
renewed
90 percent of inquiries responded to
within 2 days
•
Information requests
responded to within 2
working days
•
Information bulletins
published within 60 days of
decisions and other major
events
Two Information Bulletins published
•
Stakeholders are satisfied,
based on ongoing informal
survey
Continuing informal survey of
stakeholders suggests higher
visibility of Tribunal needed
•
•
•
Cases are upheld on
judicial review
•
Requests for mediation
assistance result in
complaints resolved and in
agreements reached or
renewed
•
Prompt response to
requests for Information
•
Timely information bulletins
•
Stakeholder satisfaction
Page 8
2009–10 Performance
One decision rendered without need
for hearing
From application to completion – 9
days
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
($ millions)
2008–09
2009–101
Actual
Spending
Main
Planned
Total
Actual
($millions) Estimates Spending Authorities Spending
Program Activity
Certification,
Complaints and
Determination Program
1.2
1.2
1.2
0.7
Internal Services
0.8
0.8
0.9
0.4
2.0
2.0
2.1
1.1
Total
Alignment to
Government of Canada
Outcome
Vibrant Canadian
Culture and Heritage
Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)
Operational
Priorities
Linkages to Strategic
Outcome(s)
Type
Status
Deal with matters
brought before
Tribunal with high
quality service
Ongoing
Met
The CAPPRT, like any
administrative tribunal, has a
duty to ensure that cases are
resolved fairly and in a timely
way, fully respecting the
requirements of natural justice
and administrative fairness.
Fully inform and
assist
stakeholders
Ongoing
Mostly met
Through its outreach and
communication activities, the
Tribunal builds stakeholder
awareness of the Status of the
Artist Act and the rights and
responsibilities that flow from it.
Management
Priorities
Improve
management
practices
Type
Status
Ongoing
Met
Linkages to Strategic
Outcome(s)
Like any government agency,
the Tribunal must continually
strive to modernize and
improve its management
practices, in order to support
the Tribunal in its decisionmaking and administrative
capacities.
1
Commencing in the 2009-10 Estimates cycle, the resources for Program Activity: Internal Service is displayed
separately from other program activities; they are no longer distributed among the remaining program activities, as
was the case in previous Main Estimates. This has affected the comparability of spending and FTE information by
Program Activity between fiscal years.
Overview
Page 9
Risk Analysis
The nature of the Tribunal’s mandate and its business environment makes the organization
relatively risk averse. The same observation could be made of any quasi-judicial organization.
Accordingly, the Tribunal has in place numerous management strategies to mitigate potential
risks.
Like any court or administrative tribunal, the CAPPRT must be prepared to deal with highs and
lows of case volume. The Tribunal’s services must be available to artists and producers as and
when the need arises. The Tribunal has certified artists’ associations to represent most sectors
under its jurisdiction, so its certification work is relatively predictable. Complaints under the Act
and references from arbitrators are less predictable and can arise at any time.
The economic crisis has affected the arts and culture sector, and the full impact remains to be
seen. One important area of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, broadcasting, has been in considerable
turmoil. If economic problems result in parties having difficulty meeting their obligations under
the Act or reaching agreements under it, there may be an increase in demand for the Tribunal’s
services. Even certification work could increase, if unstable economic circumstances give rise to
challenges to representation.
The Tribunal has traditionally been able to manage the unpredictability of caseloads by judicious
planning and budgeting within its existing appropriation levels for both human and financial
resources. In years where its total appropriations have not been used, it has returned funds to the
Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Expenditure Profile
The statutory mandate of the Tribunal means that resources are relatively steady from year to
year. Planned and authorized spending increased somewhat due to increases in salaries and
benefits pursuant to collective agreements signed by Treasury Board that impacted on the
salaries of Tribunal employees. In addition, like all government departments, the Tribunal’s
operating budget carry forward (5 percent of base budget) from 2008-2009 was added to its
authorities. The Tribunal plans for likely maximum use of its services but it has no control over
its actual case load and level of activity. The Act allows parties to bring cases to the Tribunal but
nothing guarantees how many will do so and how often. In short, the Tribunal’s caseload is
not predictable. The Tribunal’s budget increased due to salary settlements ($47K) and carry
forward ($90K). Actual expenditures rose by $77K or 8 percent from the previous year, due
primarily to salary increases and the increased number of Members needed for the Tribunal to
assure quorum.
Like all government departments, the Tribunal returns its unused resources to the Consolidated
Revenue Fund.
Page 10
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
Voted and Statutory Items
($ millions)
Vote # or
Statutory Item (S)
Truncated Vote or
Statutory Wording
20
Operating expenditures
1.0
0.9
1.8
1.0
(S)
Contributions to employee
benefit plans
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.1
1.1
2.0
2.0
1.1
Total
Overview
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2009–10
Actual
Actual
Main
Actual
Spending Spending Estimates Spending
($millions) ($millions) ($millions) ($millions)
Page 11
SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY
STRATEGIC OUTCOME
Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Page 13
Strategic Outcome
The Tribunal seeks to achieve the following strategic outcome:
The rights of artists and producers under Part II of the Status of the Artist Act are protected
and respected.
Part II of the Act, and the collective bargaining regime set up under it, are intended to encourage
constructive professional relations between artists and producers in federal jurisdiction. This is
the sole strategic outcome under the Tribunal’s Program Activity Architecture approved by
Treasury Board.
During fiscal year 2009-2010, the Tribunal pursued three priorities in order to achieve this
strategic outcome. It continued to focus on timeliness and fairness in dealing with requests under
the legislation. It continued its efforts to ensure that stakeholders have timely information about
the Act and their rights and responsibilities under it, and about Tribunal decisions and activities.
And it continued to improve its management practices, focusing on implementing the Public
Service Modernization Act and the various initiatives of Treasury Board and other central
agencies.
The performance measurement framework for these priorities matches that presented in the
Tribunal’s Report on Plans and Priorities for 2009-10. The performance results are reported
below the following table, which summarizes them.
Program Activity by Strategic Outcome
Program Activity: Certification, Complaints, and DeterminationProgr
2009-2010 Financial Resources
($millions)
Planned
Total
Actual
Spending
Authorities
Spending
1.2
1.2
0.7
Page 14
2009-2010 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned
8
Actual
5
Difference
3
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Fair and timely
resolution of
cases
Average time to issue
reasons for a decision
after the hearing in
all cases
Average time to
process all cases
(from date of receipt
of completed
application to date of
decision)
Percentage of
Tribunal decisions
upheld under judicial
review
Availability to
stakeholders of
information
about the Act
and the
Tribunal
Quality and
timeliness of
information
Quality of the
Tribunal’s Web site
Targets
Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
Maximum of 60
calendar days
N/A for fiscal
2009-2010
No oral hearings were
held.
Maximum of 200
calendar days
Met
The Tribunal issued its
decision nine days after
application
More than 75
percent
N/A for fiscal
2009-2010
No applications for
judicial review in 20092010.
Bulletins issued
within 60 days of
major
developments
(e.g., Tribunal
decisions).
2 Bulletins
issued within
timelines
Bulletins provided
timely information on
developments such as
collective bargaining in
previous FY and
attainment of quorum in
appointments
90 percent of responses
to inquiries were within
target
Responses to
inquiries within
two working
days.
Met
Stakeholders are
satisfied (as
determined by
informal
stakeholder
consultations)
The Web site
contains timely,
accurate and
helpful
information,
explains clearly
how to do
business with the
Tribunal, and
meets
Government OnLine standards.
Mostly met
Informal consultations
indicate Tribunal needs
more visibility
Met
The Web site is
regularly updated and
continuously improved
to meet Common Look
and Feel (CLF) 2.0
Standards and improve
readability and
relevance. Scale
agreements and
summaries are available
on the Web site for the
first time.
Tribunal staff attended
5 industry conferences,
and met with 4 artists’
associations, 3
Direct contacts with
stakeholders
Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Met
Page 15
Expected
Results
Performance
Indicators
Targets
Performance
Status
Performance
Summary
producers, and one
producers’ association.
Improved
management
practices
Management
Accountability
Framework
Required
elements of MAF
are in place
Met
Human Resources
Plan
Plan updated
twice per year
Met
Internal Policies
Suite
Policies updated
as needed and in
line with
government’s
objectives and
Treasury Board
policies
Met
Performance Analysis
Program Activity: Certification, Complaints, and Determination
Priority 1: Deal with matters brought before the Tribunal with high
quality service
High quality in processing of cases includes the work of staff, in preparing cases and providing
legal advice, and the work of the Tribunal in issuing decisions.
The Tribunal was without quorum to hear cases for the first half of 2009-2010. The level of case
activity in the fiscal year was lower than expected. Certification cases have decreased over the
years since the passage of the Status of the Artist Act, with most sectors of artistic activity now
represented by certified artists’ associations. Increasingly, inquiries and cases brought before the
Tribunal concern issues that arise in collective bargaining.
Four certifications of artists’ associations as sectoral bargaining agents came up for renewal; all
four were renewed. The Tribunal issued one final decision. At year’s end, two cases were
pending. Details on cases are presented in the Tribunal’s annual report and its Information
Bulletins, all available on the Tribunal’s Web site at www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca.
The Tribunal’s ability to serve its stakeholders was affected for half of the fiscal year by the fact
that it did not have enough members to ensure quorum. The Tribunal was without quorum, and
consequently unable to hear cases, from April 1 to September 30, 2009.
As set out in the 2009-2010 Report on Plans and Priorities, the Tribunal’s performance
measurement framework looks at timeliness and fairness. These two factors are interrelated but
distinct, and require different performance indicators and measurements.
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Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
For timeliness, we use two indicators: the time taken to issue reasons for a decision after a
hearing, and the total time taken to process a case, from the date an application is received until
the date of the decision. Targets and performance information for these indicators are shown in
the table above.
The first indicator is not applicable for the past fiscal year, as the Tribunal did not render any
decisions requiring hearings. The second indicator is based on time elapsed from the date of
receipt of a completed application to the date of the final decision in the case. As shown in the
table, the Tribunal met its target.
In the Tribunal’s internal monitoring and evaluation, performance information is analyzed over
multiple years, in order to identify trends.
The Tribunal uses the term “fairness” broadly, to encompass all its responsibilities as a quasijudicial tribunal, such as impartiality, accessibility, integrity, and confidentiality.
We use as an indicator of fairness the percentage of Tribunal decisions upheld on judicial review.
The Federal Court may review a Tribunal decision in the following circumstances:
o if the Tribunal acted without jurisdiction or beyond its jurisdiction, or refused to exercise
its jurisdiction;
o if it failed to observe a principle of natural justice, procedural fairness or other procedure
that it was required by law to observe; or
o if it acted, or failed to act, by reason of fraud or perjured evidence.
The indicator is not perfect, because parties may be dissatisfied with Tribunal decisions but not
seek judicial review, for any number of reasons, including lack of resources. Nonetheless, the
Federal Court acts as the arbiter of fairness of federal quasi-judicial tribunals, so this is an
important indicator. We have set as a target that more than 75 percent of our cases are upheld on
judicial review.
There were no applications for judicial review in 2009-2010. As with timeliness, we collect this
information yearly but analyze it over longer periods. To date, only three of the Tribunal’s 86
interim and final decisions have been challenged in this manner. Two requests for judicial
review were dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal, one in 1998-1999 and one in 2004-2005.
The third request was withdrawn.
An important outcome of fair Tribunal decisions is the development of a solid body of
precedents. These can be used to help resolve future cases.
The Tribunal is committed to maintaining and strengthening its research function to support the
work of the Tribunal. This is a matter of importance for the Tribunal: it deals continually with
new issues, and its jurisprudence is largely innovative, requiring a strong research capacity to
ensure that decisions are fair and reflect the realities of the stakeholder community. Tribunal
staff continued developing research resources over the course of the fiscal year, meeting with
producers and artists’ associations and attending industry conferences, and facilitated
information and training sessions for Tribunal members on developments in broadcasting and
labour relations. The Tribunal’s case management database was further developed and refined
over the course of the year.
Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Page 17
Priority 2: Fully inform and assist stakeholders
The Tribunal’s second priority is to fully inform and assist the artists, artists’ associations, and
producers that make up its stakeholder base. The Tribunal has a duty to ensure that artists,
artists’ associations and producers are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities under the
Status of the Artist Act. For parties to benefit from the Act, for collective bargaining under the
Act to take place and for the long-term objectives of the Act to be realized, the parties must fully
understand the legislation.
One way that the Tribunal does this is through timely responses to inquiries. The Tribunal
receives a wide variety of questions from stakeholders, dealing with subjects like jurisdiction,
specifics of the various cultural industries, and how to use the Act. Tribunal staff members
respond to these questions quickly and thoroughly, always inviting further comment or question.
The Tribunal’s target is to respond within 2 working days of the receipt of the inquiry. The
Tribunal exceeded its target in 90 percent of its inquiry responses.
The Tribunal is committed to facilitating collective bargaining by making research tools and
resources available to artists associations and producers. The Tribunal works in an informal
partnership with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) to make scale
agreements readily available to stakeholders for research purposes. HRSDC runs a database
known as Negotech that digitally stores collective agreements filed with the Minister of Labour.
The Tribunal’s website provides hyperlinks to scale agreements on Negotech. For many of the
scale agreements, the Tribunal provides summaries of salient features such as provisions dealing
with new media.
With respect to more general information needs about the Act and the Tribunal’s services and
activities, the Tribunal uses information bulletins, regularly-updated information on its Web site,
and information sessions for stakeholders. Follow-up with stakeholders has shown that these are
well received and considered useful.
Large-scale information sessions for stakeholders have in recent years given way to more
tailored and customized information. The Tribunal’s stakeholders have different, often quite
specific, needs for information. More focused personalized information and small group or
individual meetings are often a more effective way of addressing those needs. The Tribunal
emphasized these more direct approaches to stakeholders, including participation in industry
conferences that bring stakeholders together and allow multiple meetings and information
exchanges, maximizing the effective use of Tribunal staff time. In 2009-2010, Tribunal staff
used informal means to increase the knowledge and awareness of the Act and the Tribunal
among a cross-section of stakeholders from the artists’ and producers’ communities, including
4 artists’ associations, 3 producers and 1 producers’ association. Both approaches, formal
presentations and informal meetings, are useful, and the Tribunal will continue to use them both,
as appropriate.
The Tribunal issued two information bulletins in 2009-2010, covering information such as the
new availability of scale agreements on the Tribunal’s website and changes in the Tribunal’s
membership, allowing it to ensure quorum.
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Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
The Tribunal continued revising its website to make it more helpful and accessible, and made
major revisions to the website, adding links to scale agreements and summaries of agreements.
The website received 30,663 hits from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010.
Research to support the Tribunal’s work with artists’ associations and producers continued to be
important in 2009-2010, especially in view of current developments in broadcasting and new
media. Broadcasting is one of the principal areas of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, and the
challenges of transformations in the broadcasting industry – mergers, changes of ownership, new
technologies, and the weakening of traditional business models – for artists’ associations and
broadcasters require new efforts from the Tribunal to facilitate negotiation under the Act.
Research staff monitored and analyzed developments in broadcasting and new media throughout
the fiscal year, tracking CRTC and Parliamentary initiatives and attending industry conferences.
Priority 3: Improve management practices
As in previous years, the Tribunal used outsourcing and cost-saving agreements for many
services not required on a full-time basis. It contracted with the Department of Canadian
Heritage for human resources services, with Industry Canada for security and mail services, and
with the Public Service Labour Relations Board for informatics support. It has arrangements
with two other federal labour boards to use their hearing rooms and library services. It also
contracts for the services of a financial analyst.
The Tribunal Secretariat continued to maximize its human resources, selecting multi-skilled,
flexible staff capable of handling a wide variety of responsibilities. This matches the economic
efficiency of the Tribunal itself: Tribunal members are part-time appointees, called on and paid
only as needed, and bilingual, which facilitates scheduling of hearings. The Tribunal continued
to provide accommodation and administrative and financial services to Environmental Protection
Review Canada, thereby lowering the overall costs to the government.
To improve its operational efficiency and its capability to measure performance, the Tribunal
continued to refine its case management database over the course of 2009-2010.
The Tribunal continued to develop its management practices in 2009-2010, working on
implementing government-wide initiatives and continuing work on those initiatives already
implemented, in a cluster group with three other small quasi-judicial agencies, the Copyright
Board, the Registry of the Competition Tribunal, and the Transportation Appeal Tribunal. The
Tribunal also worked with other networks such as the Small Agency Transition Support Team
for expertise related to human resources issues (such as the Policy on Learning, Training and
Development), and was an active participant in the Micro and Small Agency Labour
Management Consultation Committee to ensure adherence to the Public Service Labour
Relations Act.
The Tribunal continued to work with and update its Human Resources Plan. It uses this plan to
forecast its staffing needs, deal strategically with staffing, retention and succession issues, and
mobilize and sustain the energies and talents of its members and employees, enabling them to
contribute to the achievement of organizational goals.
Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Page 19
The Tribunal has internal policies to promote excellence in performance, accountability, and
workplace well-being, and a code of values and ethics as well as policies on harassment and the
internal disclosure of wrongdoing. To ensure that these policies remain current and relevant, the
Tribunal further refined its policy review and renewal cycle, including continued study and
development of evaluation strategies and performance measurement tools.
The Tribunal’s human resources and business planning are integrated, and it uses a Strategic
Human Resources Plan and a Staffing Management Accountability Framework. In 2009-2010, it
continued to monitor staffing actions in relation to its staffing strategies and plans, although the
small number of positions and of staffing actions hardly justifies the term “statistics” and makes
identification of trends or tendencies difficult.
Based on assistance from the Treasury Board Secretariat in the assessment of the Tribunal’s
compliance with the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) in 2007-2008, the Tribunal
put considerable effort in 2009-2010 into updating the Tribunal’s risk profile and better aligning
the language and indicators between the Report on Plans and Priorities and Departmental
Performance Report. It also continued to review its information practices, to ensure compliance
with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Other indicators of progress
The Status of the Artist Act is a specialized piece of legislation, of quite limited application to a
very specific and narrow area of economic activity. As a result, indicators of effectiveness are
frequently difficult to assess because of the problem of small numbers. The Tribunal uses certain
indicators over multi-year periods to monitor the achievement of constructive professional
relations in the cultural sector.
One such indicator is the proportion of complaints that are resolved without the necessity of a
hearing by the Tribunal. Joint resolution of issues fosters cooperation between artists and
producers, and saves time and money for the parties and the Tribunal by reducing the need for
costly hearings. Accordingly, the Tribunal encourages parties to resolve as many issues as
possible jointly before proceeding to a hearing, and the parties frequently find that they can
resolve all the issues jointly. The Tribunal Secretariat provides assistance, where appropriate,
through investigation and mediation, and in 2009-2010 emphasized augmenting staff’s
knowledge and skills in the issues facing the arts sector, so that the staff members are better able
to meet the needs of stakeholders.
The table below shows the progress against this indicator. It should be noted that, as with many
performance indicators, this is an approximate measure. Parties will withdraw complaints for
various reasons. For example, sometimes the filing of a complaint will in itself bring the parties
together to resolve the issue without any intervention of the Tribunal.
The negotiation of scale agreements is another indicator of constructive professional relations.
Again, this is an approximate measure. The Tribunal can facilitate negotiations by granting
certification, providing information about the Act’s provisions for negotiations, and dealing with
complaints of failure to bargain in good faith. It has little influence, however, over whether the
parties actually pursue negotiations after certification, or over the results of such negotiations,
unless one of the parties brings the matter before the Tribunal. Moreover, because there is no
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Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
provision for first contract arbitration in the legislation, parties may be involved in bargaining for
years without ever concluding an agreement.
With respect to the negotiation of scale agreements, a lot has been accomplished, if less than
hoped for, as shown in the table below. Thirteen of the 24 certified artists’ associations (54
percent) have negotiated a scale agreement under the Act, compared to the expected target of 19
(80 percent). (Note that this indicator has been adjusted from what was used in previous years,
where we looked at first agreements signed within 5 years of certification. That indicator, on
review over time, was found not to be representative.)
Constructive professional relations
Indicator
Target
Results since SAA was passed
Percentage of
complaints resolved
without a hearing
At least 50 percent of all 50 percent were resolved without a
complaints are resolved hearing.
without a hearing.
Proportion of certified
artists’ associations that
have concluded scale
agreements under the
Act.
A minimum of 80
percent of certified
artists’ associations
have concluded at least
one new scale
agreement under the
Act.
54 percent have negotiated at least one
scale agreement.
At the end of fiscal year 2009-2010, 16 certified artists’ associations (67 percent) had at least one
outstanding notice to bargain a new scale agreement.
Various amendments recommended in the 2002 evaluation of the Act2, such as requiring
arbitration in specific situations for the settlement of first agreements, would facilitate the goal of
successful negotiations following certification.
Lessons Learned
The Tribunal Secretariat noted again the importance of being able to ensure that it has quorum to
hear cases. The absence of quorum has a negative impact on the Tribunal’s relations with its
stakeholders. It must increase its outreach efforts when it is unable to hear cases. The Tribunal’s
credibility with its stakeholders is significantly advanced with balanced representation from the
cultural industries and the labour relations community.
Benefits for Canadians
This program activity contributes to harmonious professional relations in the cultural sector,
which in turn contributes to better conditions of engagement for artists and a more stable,
predictable workforce for producers. This is a critical contribution to a vibrant Canadian
culture, the economic benefits of which have been amply demonstrated by recent research.
2
Available on the Tribunal’s website at http://www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca/eic/site/capprt-tcrpap.nsf/eng/tn00164.html
Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
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Program Activity: Internal Services
Program Activity: Internal Services
2009–10 Financial Resources ($ millions)
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
2009–10 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned
Actual
Difference
0.8
0.9
0.4
2
2
0
Internal Services are activities and resources that support the needs of the Tribunal’s operating
program and other corporate obligations. They include administrative, human resources,
financial, information management services, and information technology services.
The Tribunal has internal service expectations and monitors overall service performance of its
internal services. The Tribunal has a sound results-oriented framework utilizing the
Management Accountability Framework (MAF) and a quality assurance framework that will
continue to ensure that services are conducted in a timely and cost effective manner.
The Tribunal’s internal services have had to be carefully designed to take into account the
extremely small size of the organization. The Tribunal outsources some corporate services that
are not required on a full time basis. For example, it contracts with Canadian Heritage for
human resources services, and with the Public Service Labour Relations Board and Industry
Canada for informatics, security, and mail services. It has arrangements with two other federal
labour boards to use their hearing rooms and library services.
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Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
SECTION III: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Supplementary Information
Page 23
Financial Highlights
($ millions)
Condensed Statement of Operations
At end of Fiscal Year (March 31, 2010)
ASSETS
Total Assets
% Change
2008–09
2009–10
(16.5)
.079
.066
(16.5)
.079
.066
.079
.066
8.6
.210
.228
8.6
.210
.228
(23.7)
(.131)
(.162)
(23.7)
(.131)
(.162)
.079
.066
% Change
2008–09
2009–10
4.1
1.559
1.623
4.1
1.559
1.623
-
-
-
-
1.599
1.623
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
Total Liabilities
EQUITY
Total Equity
TOTAL
($ millions)
Condensed Statement of Operations
At end of Fiscal Year (March 31, 2010)
EXPENSES
Total Expenses
REVENUES
Total Revenues
NET COST OF OPERATIONS
4.1
Statement of Operations
The Tribunal’s activities have remained relatively stable through the two year period
ending March 31, 2010. The cost of operations has risen by $ 64,000 from the previous
year. This increase is due primarily to changes in three expenditure categories:
• salaries and employee benefits have increased by $111 thousand,
• professional services have decreased by $30 thousand, and
• amortization expenses have decreased by $8 thousand.
The most significant change in the cost of operations is in salaries and employee benefits.
The increase in costs is the result of two factors - the Tribunal reached quorum with the
appointment of two part-time members in 2009-10 and the employees received increases
as a result of collective agreements settled in 2009-10. These two factors and the related
employee benefits accounted for almost all of the $111 thousand increase in salaries and
employee benefits.
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Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
The Tribunal achieved savings by selecting another government provider for its
information services and eliminating temporary help costs. ATIP training was provided
in 2008-09 and did not have to be repeated in 2009-10.
The Commission’s asset platform is almost fully amortized and as a result, the annual
amortization costs are diminishing.
Statement of Financial Position
The absence of significant change in the overall Statement of Financial Position is a
further reflection of the stable operating environment of the Tribunal.
The most significant changes on the Statement of Financial Position are:
• a reduction in accounts receivable, primarily the employee benefits recoverable
from Treasury Board,
• prepaid expenses as the Tribunal realized cost reductions by paying in advance,
• accounts payable decreased as the Tribunal settled more of its accounts prior to
year-end, and
• severance benefits increased in part due to the increased salary base used in the
determination of the benefits payable.
Financial Statements
http://www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca/eic/site/capprt-tcrpap.nsf/eng/tn00552.html
Supplementary Information
Page 25
SECTION IV: CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact Information
Page 27
Contact Information
Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal
240 Sparks Street, 1st Floor West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1A1
Telephone: (613) 996-4052 or 1-800-263-2787
Fax: (613) 947-4125
E-mail: info@capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca
Web site: www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca
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Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal